$33k would be a great starting point for the 250h AWD, definitely not for the FWD 200. At that point the 250h could potentially steal some Subaru buyers (and better-off young people in general).

As we wrote about previously, CT200h was $33k starting price (little bit less than that), so there is no way UX200 will start lower. CT200h will be at least 35k, and probably more like $36k but with AWD standard.

Lexus does not need to steal Subaru buyers in the US, it is Lexus. They certainly wont undercut Volvo either.

But yeah, this is why they also estimate 20k sales per year, 3x less than NX. It is not vehicle targeted for the US.

^^ I assume that some vehicles go under the radar as they are not something that really appeals to a spy photographer. Looking at those Nurburgring pics it could be confused with a number of vehicles.

Personally I was very happy to see a nice reveal without 100,000 spy photos and theories. The UX in pics exceeded my expectations.

Most likely under the radar...hopefully. However it is not about "spy shots" for the sake of it. Toyota tries to replicates many situations in the real world at their facilities but they can only get so close and have trial their vehicles in environments where will truly be used the most.

spwolf

They probably tested it in C-HR body and nobody guessed it is a Lexus.

Otherwise, that Toyota is likely a Prius SUV, similar to Rav4, maybe 7 seater? And it might indeed replace Prius v. It certainly looks bigger than C-HR and UX.

And Toyota has been testing on ring for quite a while... I remember C-HR was tested there and if my memory serves me, even 2011 Yaris was tested a lot there for high speed stability.

You still need to test it in the final body sufficiently, well in advance of pilot production or there are things that can go wrong during that stage and then POSSIBLY delay mass production start-up, which is set for October.

I understand the need for privacy but unless they're doing night testing it still needs to be done as needed and a CHR body is not going to achieve that fully. They likely also used a lifted CT as well, as I already posted. Surely it has been seen by the eyes of people testing in its final body, but not photographed most likely and maybe at night.

I trust they got enough feedback with internal facility testing and will not discover problems later. I only mentioned this as it reminds me of the era where Toyota never built any physical prototypes and relied too much on virtual testing, which led them into a period of quality control issues.

It's not about seeing staged photographs as "spy shots", but some evidence they are putting it through the paces and not just controlled scenario testing which has its negatives in the long run. Which probably might explain the typical deficit in driving ability against competitors.

Is there a possibility that they are trying to combine a lot of tests with winter testing? It is usually for drivetrain calibration (e.g. to meet cold start emission standards). That could make spotting a lot harder since the cars will be tested in less accessible areas that attract little attention.

I understand the need for privacy but unless they're doing night testing it still needs to be done as needed and a CHR body is not going to achieve that fully. They likely also used a lifted CT as well, as I already posted. Surely it has been seen by the eyes of people testing in its final body, but not photographed most likely and maybe at night.

I trust they got enough feedback with internal facility testing and will not discover problems later. I only mentioned this as it reminds me of the era where Toyota never built any physical prototypes and relied too much on virtual testing, which led them into a period of quality control issues.

It's not about seeing staged photographs as "spy shots", but some evidence they are putting it through the paces and not just controlled scenario testing which has its negatives in the long run. Which probably might explain the typical deficit in driving ability against competitors.

they probably used that lifted CT for C-HR development too, and now using C-HR for UX. Since its main market is Europe, I bet it was driving a lot there and nobody noticed :). They share the same wheelbase, so I dont see why they could not test it properly when it comes to handling, etc.

I'm not too worried about whether they tested it enough. Lexus generally does a more than adequate job to make sure their vehicles are reliable, as evidenced by the excellent resale values. Any chance they'll trickle out some more information at the Beijing auto show at the end of the month? It's already guaranteed that there will be a new ES reveal.

I'm not too worried about whether they tested it enough. Lexus generally does a more than adequate job to make sure their vehicles are reliable, as evidenced by the excellent resale values. Any chance they'll trickle out some more information at the Beijing auto show at the end of the month? It's already guaranteed that there will be a new ES reveal.

best part about UX is that C-HR and TNGA are already very competent drives... When I had extensive test of C-HR, it felt like best handling car in the class, with good balance between ride and sportiness, something that most other cars I tried in same category could not match. My problems with it were different - I drive on long highways at 100mph, so C-HR was too noisy at those speeds, and tad underpowered. Both things that UX and 2.0l hybrid can solve.